Method of manufacturing gas.



PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

L. P. LOWE.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1902.

| Nvrzwma \NITNE SE5 /7 comparativelylight and easily-distilled oils,

I LEON P. rows, OF SAN raANoisoo, CALIFORNIA.

are. 817,126.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, LEON P. LOWE, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Manufacturing Gas and Recovering By- Products, which improvement is fully set forth in the-following specification and achydrocarbon oils which are converted intofiXed gases and condensable hydrocarbon substances, the former being in the shape of the so-called oil-gas 'of heavy gravity and high candle-power, while'the latter is in the form of so-called oil-tar. This process of manufacturing as has many disadvantages, and its success 1 use is limited to the handling of while the resulting rich gas has not, generally speaking, been found a commercial and practicable substance for delivery and use through street-pipes in the ordinary manner.

I have found that if rich oil-gases are subj acted to a degree of heat sufficiently high to break downa portion of the rich hea drocarbons into a solid substance, usua ly in the form of lampblack, the remaining gas is of lower candle-power and. lighter gravity, and which is, enerally speaking, a commercially success l gas for distribution in the ordinary manner. Gas so manufactured must be rigorously treated before use to thor-.

oughly cleanse and free it from lam black tarr substances, and heretofore t is has been 011g combine mixture of fixed gases, con ensable. hydrocarbons and solid carbonaceous substances directl carbonaceous st'ancesare more or less 1nterm1xed,1n

NUFAGTU Specification of Letters Patent. llpplioationfileflllfaroh 4,1902. Serial No.96,622.

practically done by brin ingthe y in contact with water and re: covering each separately. so doing the liqtuid hydrocarbons an soli su addition to which'they carry such a large me as.

Patented April a, 19cc.

amount of water as to make them practicall useless for distillation into more refined prod note. If oils are subjected to a certain degree of heat, and that only sufficiently high to convert same into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbon liquids, and if thelatter be removed prior to the subjecting of they gas to the high degree of heatnecessary for the breaking down of a portion of the heavyhydrocarbons into solid carbons, it is practicable to recover the tarr substances in a separate and refined con ition, in which state they may have a commercial and market'- able value and the lamp-black can be subsequently recovered in a comparativelypure state, or it can be used in a simultaneous operation for the decomposition of steam in connection with gas-making, thus increasing the amount of gas recovered, and this 1 accomplish in an apparatus which I have deyised, shown in the accompanying drawings, and of which the following is a description.

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional elevation of the apparatus embodyin my invention. Fig. 2 represents a plan 0 same.

Similar numerals of reference indicate correspondin parts in both figures.

'1 is a s ell forming what I term a gasenerator. It is preferably of cylindrical orm and preferably composed of metal.

2 is a refractory lining, referably in the form of fire-brick, contained within the body of the shell 1. v

3 is a chamber contained within the upper portion of the shell 1.

4 is a chamber contained within the lower portion of the shell 1'. e

5 is a partition'or dividing wall separating the chambers 3 and 4.

b 6 is an outlet-opening from the top of chamer 4. 7 is an inlet-opening from'the bottom of chamber 5. 8 is a valve connecting the openings 6 and 7. 9 is a gas di -pipe sealing in a ydraulic seal inthe usua manner.

10 is a hydraulic seal. 511 is an outlet stack-valve closing an opening at top of generator. 4

12 is a suitabl -controlled oil-supply pipe entering at top 0 chamber 3.

13 is-a valve controlling air-blast opening at bottom of chamber 4.

14 is an oil-injector of usual form.

151s an oil-pipe supplying injector 14.

16 is a steam-supply pipe entering injector 14.

17 is an ordinary tubular condenser.

18 is an ordinary hydraulic seal.

19 is a gas-outlet pipe extending from bottom of chamber 3 and entering hydraulic seal 18 in such a manner as to form a dip-seal,

20 is a pipe connecting hydraulic seal 18 with top of condenser 17.

21 is a pipe connecting bottom of condenser 17 with bottom of chamber 4.

22 is a controlling-valve in pipe 21.

23 is a tar-overflow pipe.

24 is a tar-well in which overflow-pipe 23 dips and seals. I I

25 is an open-work checker filling of refractory substance, preferably in the form of loosel piled fire-bricks, contained within the cham er 3.

26 is an open checker filling of refractory substance, preferably in the form of looselypiled fire-bricks, contained within the cham- When I desire to put this apparatus into operation, I proceedas follows: I close valve 22 and open valve 8 and stack-valve 11. I then build a light fire in the bottom of chamber 4, the combustion of which I support by air admitted, preferably in the form. of forced blast, through valve 13. This light fire serves to ignite hydrocarbons, which I admit erably in the form. of. crude through injector 14 and with which I heat to a high degree the loosely-piled stack of refractory substance 26 contained within the chamber 4. The products of combustion of the burning hydrocarbons escape from outlet 6 at to of chamber 4, through valve 8 and throug opening 7, into the bottom of the chamber 3, through which they pass and heat the mass of loosely-piled refractory substance 25 contained therein, the products of combustion finally escaping into the atmosphere through the stack-valve 11. It willbe seen that the refractory substances 26 and 25 are heated in a gradually-decreasing ratio, the hottest portion being that next adjacent to the bottom of the chamber 4, wherein the combustion of the hydrocarbon takes place. When the refractory substances 26 and 25 have become properly heated, which can be observed through sight-holes conveniently placed through, the side of shell 1, I,discontinue the heatin o eration by closing off the combustion of the hydrocarbon at the in'ector 14 and air-blast at valve 13. I then close the stack-valve 11' and valve 8 and open valve 22. I then admit hydrocarbon, prefetroleum or its derivatives and preferably introduced in the form of a finely dividedspray, through inlet-pipe 12, which, owing to the heat contained within the chamber 3, is quickly vaporized, and the vapors, passing downward over the mass vofrefractory substance 25, are converted partially into fixed gases and partially into condensable hydrocarbon substances, usually in the form of oil-tars, the

. mixture of gas and tarryvapors so formed passin throng pipe 19, into the seal 18, wherein the from the bottom of chamber 3..

tars are partially condensed, and from whence they pass through pipe 20 into the top of condenser 17, through which they-pass, and the balance of the tarrysubstances are therein condensed and dropped from the gasand collected in the bottom of the condenser 17 through which they flow through pipe 23 and are collected in theiwell 24, while the gas,

freed from its tarry vapors, passes through pipe-21 into the bottom of, the chamber 4, at w -ch point it has been most highly heated, and simultaneously with the passage of the gas intothe chamber 4 I admit steam through pipe 16. The gas passing upward through chamber 4 comes in contact with the very highly heated refractory substance 26 contained within the chamber 4, and a portion of. the heavy hydrocarbons of the same arev broken down into solid carbonaceous form, in which condition the oxygen of the steam admitted through the valve 16 unites with the solid carbonformed, resulting in a decomposi'- tion of the steam and its conversion, together with the carbon,'into the so-called watergas, the mixture of water and oil gases thus .formed passing-up through chamber 4, over the surfaces of the highly-heated refractory substance 26,and finally escaping through outlet-pipe 6 and dip-seal pipe 9 into hydraulic seal 10, from'whence they pass to washers and scrubbers and are cleansed in the usual manner. When the heatcontained within the refractory substances 25 and 26 falls too low for the roper decomposition of the oil, as described I discontinue thegas-making stage by closing off hydrocarbon-supply from pipe 12 and steam-supply from pipe 16, and

, after closing valve 22 and opening valves 8 and 11 I reheat the apparatus in the manner first described until it is again sufficiently hot for gas-making purposes, after which, by the manipulations previously described, I again enter upon the gas-making stage, it thus being seen that the operations of heating and gas-making are intermittent and alternate.

If in heating the apparatus described I find it necessary so to do, I use a second hydrocarbon-injector (not shown) at the bottom of chamber 3, in which case I also supply an air-blast. (not shown) to that portion of the apparatus for the combustion therein.

purpose of supporting The valve 22 is not essential to the principle involved in this method of gas manufac ture; but for safety in the prevention of the formation of explosive mixtures in the condenser 17 I prefer its use.

This gas-making apparatus can be of any convenient form and construction, and I do of gases, solid carbonaceous substances and condensable hydrocarbon compounds, simultaneously admitting steam in sufficient quantity to combine with substantially the whole of said carbonaceous substances and form carbon monoxid and hydrogen, and subsefluently recovering the fixed gases, and conensable compounds in their separate forms, substantially as described.

2. The process of manufacturing gas,, vhich consists in highly heating a mass of refractory substance contained within a gas-generator, and subsequently bringing into contact with a portion thereof hydrocarbon vapors,.

subjecting the same to only a sufficient degree of heat to convert the vapors into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbon substances, subsequently removing the condensable hydrocarbons and resubjecting the remaining gases to a degree of heat suflicient for breaking down a portion of same into solid carbonaceous form, substantially as shown and described.

3. The process of manufacturing gas, which consists in highly heating a mass of refractory substance contained within a gas-generator, and subsequently bringing into contact with a portion thereof hydrocarbon vapors, subjecting the same-to only a sufficient degree of heat toconvert the vapors into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbon 'substances, subsequently removing the condene sable hydrocarbons and resub'ecting the remaining gases to a degree of eat sufficient for breaking down a portion of same into solid carbonaceous form, simultaneously admitting steam for the purpose of decomposing same in contact with the solid carbons formed as described, and mingling the water and oil gases formed, substantially as shown and described.

4. The process of manufacturing gas, which consists in highly heating masses of refracvapors into contact with a portionthereot' at its coolest part, passing the vapors downward over the heated refractory substances in a-direction opposite to that in which it was heated, converting the vapors into fixed gases and cond ensable h 'drocarbons, subsequently removing the con ensable hydrocarbons and resubjecting the gas to a high degree of heat by bringing it into contact with the surfaces of a. portion of the said refractory substances by passing over same in the direction in which it was heated, thus breaking down a portion of the heavy hydrocarbons of the gas into solid carbonaceous form, substantially as shown and described.

5. The process of manufacturing gas, which consists in highly heating masses of refractory substances contained within a gas-generator and subsequently bringing hydrocarbon vapors into contact with a portion thereof at its. coolest part, passing the vapors down ward over the heated refractory substances in a direction opposite to that in which it was heated, converting the vapors into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbons, subsequently removing the condensable hydrocarbons and resubjecting the gas to a high degree of heat by bringing it into contact with the surfaces of a portion of the said refractory substances by passing over same in the direction in which it was heated, thus breaking down a portion of the heavy hydrocarbons of the gas into solid carbonaceous form,- simultaneously admitting steam for the purpose of effecting its decomposition in contact with the solid carbon formed, as described, minglingthe water and the oil gases formed, substantially as shown and described.

6. The process of manufacturing gas which consists in highly heating two masses of refractory material by passing hot gases in succession therethrough, then passing fluid hydrocarbon through the masses of refractory material last heated, condensing the heavy vapors therefrom, commingling the gas, so freed, with steam, and passing the mixed steam and gas througl-i the other mass of re fractory material in the same direction as the heating thereof.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

L. Pl LOWE.

Witnesses E. W. HORNE, S. MQLAUGHLIN. 

